Apple Pie
Streusel:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter OR margarine, cold
Set the rack about 5 or 6 inches from bottom of the oven. Set oven to 450 degrees about 10 minutes before baking begins.
Blend together the flour, cinnamon and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the butter (or margarine) and cut into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or forks until the mixture forms crumbs about the size of peas.
Pastry and Filling:
1-1/4 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon mixed into it
1 Tablespoon flour
7 to 8 medium-sized tart apples, such as Granny Smith
Pastry:
Use 1/2 of the pie pastry recipe which follows below
Make the pastry from the recipe included below, roll it out and line a 9-inch pie pan with it and trim the pastry. Sprinkle the 1 Tablespoon of flour over the bottom of the prepared pastry, along with 1 Tablespoon of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Wash the apples, peel and core them and slice thinly lengthwise. Mix the apple slices with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Arrange the slices compactly around in the prepared pastry, mounding in the center. Evenly distribute the Streusel over the top of the apple slices, pressing into place as needed.
Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees. Bake for an additional 40 minutes (or until a sharp knife inserted into the pie easily pierces the apple slices). Remove from the oven and place on a rack for cooling.
May be served warm with ice cream or cheddar cheese, or may be served cold, as is your preference.
Basic Pie Crust:
This crust can be used for almost any kind of filling. The combined ingredients produce enough dough for two 9-inch crusts, or one pie requiring a top and bottom crust.
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup shortening (like Crisco)
1/2 cup cold sweet butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons cold orange juice OR ice water
Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Add butter and shortening. Cut the shortening into the dry ingredients, using a fork or pastry blender. Mix as well as you like at this point, without fear of overmixing. The next part of the mixing process requires caution so as not to overmix. With a knife, cut orange juice OR water into butter-flour mixture until it forms a ball. Divide the dough in half.
On a large brown paper bag cut open, liberally sprinkle flour. Roll 1/2 of the dough out at a time into a circular shape. Fold the dough circle in half then fold over once again to form a quarter circle. Carefully transfer the dough into a 9-inch pie pan by placing the folded dough onto the pan and unfold it gently. Fit the dough onto the pan edges and trim, finishing the edge as decoratively or as simply as you would like.